FDA Warns Of Mercury in Skin Creams

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned this week that more than 35 imported skin creams, antiseptic soaps and anti-aging lotions have recently been tied to mercury poisoning that in some instances sent users to the hospital.

The alarm comes nearly four decades after the agency banned mercury in cosmetic products except mascara, where it can be used in tiny amounts as a preservative. The 35 tainted products, found in seven states, were being sold illegally. FDA constantly adds more mercury-laced skin products to its import alerts in hopes of interdicting them before they go on the U.S. market.

One product, a face cream intercepted in Texas, contained 131,000 times the (miniscule) level of mercury legally allowed in cosmetics.

Unscrupulous cosmetics manufacturers add mercury to lotions because the chemical can render the skin paler and make freckles fade. But mercury is toxic to the brain and nervous system and is particularly dangerous for the developing fetus. When applied to the skin, it can seep into the bloodstream and accumulate in the body. Mercury poisoning can damage vision and hearing and cause tremors, numbness and tingling in arms and legs and memory problems, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Although mainstream U.S. cosmetic manufacturers have long abandoned the use of mercury in skin creams, American consumers are not sufficiently protected from potentially hazardous chemicals in cosmetic products. The reason: FDA has very little oversight over the safety of cosmetics, a class of products that includes skin creams, make-up, deodorants, lip balms and shaving creams. Although the agency has the authority to ban highly toxic ingredients like mercury, it permits the use of some potentially hazardous chemicals, like endocrine-disrupting phthalates and the known human carcinogen formaldehyde...

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